Finance wash plants, classifiers, screens, excavators, and haul trucks for sand and gravel operations. Pit and dredge operations served, fast approvals.
Sand and gravel production puts water at the center of the operation in a way that most mining does not. Whether you are pit-mining a glacial deposit and washing the fines out, or running a suction dredge across a river bar, the product quality depends on water volume and the efficiency of the classification circuit. A wash plant that is sized right and maintained well produces spec sand and washed gravel with consistent gradations that ready-mix plants, asphalt producers, and DOT projects will actually buy at premium prices. Equipment that cannot hold gradation costs you the accounts that pay best.
We finance the equipment that sand and gravel producers run: excavators and scrapers for pit extraction, suction and cutter-head dredges, wash plants and log washers, sand classifiers, vibrating screens, belt conveyors, radial stackers, and the haul trucks and loaders that move product. Minimum transaction $50,000. Application-only financing available up to roughly $400,000 without requiring tax returns. New and used equipment both financed.
Pit Mining vs. Dredge: Equipment by Method
Sand and gravel producers use two primary extraction methods, and the equipment sets are distinct.
Pit extraction-- A dry sand and gravel pit uses excavators or scrapers to move overburden, then excavators or front-end loaders to load gravel into haul trucks or directly onto a feed conveyor.Hydraulic excavatorsin the 20- to 90-ton class are the standard production tool. Below the water table, a floating dredge or a dragline working from the pond edge takes over.Draglinesat sand and gravel pits are typically small by mining standards -- 2 to 5 cubic yard bucket -- but they are specialized assets with limited secondary market buyers and require experienced operators.
Dredge extraction--Suction dredgespump a water-sand-gravel slurry from a river, pond, or reservoir bottom through the processing circuit. A cutter-head dredge adds a rotating cutter to break up consolidated deposits before suction. Dredges are high-value, purpose-built assets and represent some of the most specialized collateral we work with in the aggregate sector.
Processing equipment-- The wash plant is the profit center of a sand and gravel operation. A log washer with acomplete wash plant circuit-- feed hopper, screen deck, log washer, sand classifying tank, and dewatering screens -- produces the washed materials that command specification pricing.Vibrating screenssort washed gravel into coarse, medium, and fine fractions for different market applications.
Refinancing and Capital Recovery Options
Sand and gravel operators who have owned their wash plant or excavator for several years often have significant equity in that equipment. ASale-Leaseback Financingconverts that equity to working capital without disrupting production. The wash plant keeps running; cash comes in at closing. This is particularly valuable when the market is strong and the operator wants to expand capacity or add a second pit -- the owned equipment finances the growth without requiring new equity or bank credit lines.
For operators who financed equipment years ago and have paid the balance down substantially,refinancingagainst the current remaining balance can lower the monthly payment and free up cash flow for other uses. If the machine has appreciated in the current market -- which has happened for wash plants and processing equipment that are hard to source -- cash-out refinancing can provide capital above the existing loan balance.
Sand and Gravel Producers Who Benefit
Independent sand and gravel producers make up the core of our financing volume in this sector. These are owner-operated pits and dredge operations, typically family businesses, supplying ready-mix plants, contractors, and DOT projects within a defined local market. They are intensely capital-focused -- every dollar of equipment debt has to show up in productive capacity.
Portable sand and gravel contractors who bring wash equipment to temporary sites also need financing. A producer who wins a permitted sand extraction contract on a river bar or reservoir needs the dredge and wash plant capitalized quickly, ahead of the extraction window. Timing constraints are real for these operators.
Ready-mix and asphalt companies who own their own aggregate source vertically integrate the sand and gravel operation into their production chain. Financing the aggregate equipment separately from the concrete or asphalt equipment often makes sense for clarity of asset tracking and for structure purposes. We handle both the aggregate side and, through related programs, the processing plant equipment.
For operators starting out,startup mining financingis available for businesses under two years old that are acquiring their first wash plant or excavator. The requirements are more conservative, but the program exists because every established operation was once a startup.